Lufthansa has the most diverse quad-jet fleet in the world. In addition to operating two variants of the iconic Boeing 747 and the giant Airbus A380, the airline is also by far the largest of the remaining Airbus A340...
Lufthansa has the most diverse quad-jet fleet in the world. In addition to operating two variants of the iconic Boeing 747 and the giant Airbus A380, the airline is also by far the largest of the remaining Airbus A340 operators. It uses both the A340-600 which was once the longest airliner in the world and the shorter A340-300.
Continue reading to learn more about Lufthansa A340s including the routes they fly, seat configuration, and retirement plans.
Lufthansa operates a fleet of A340-300s and A340-600s.
Lufthansa A340 Routes
In the past, Lufthansa used to operate both of its A340 variants out of both of its hubs – Frankfurt and Munich. Currently, Frankfurt sees both the A340-300 and the A340-600 while Munich is only served by the latter.
The Lufthansa A340s operate mostly long-haul flights to over two dozen destinations around the world. While primarily they operate flights to the United States, they are also used on multiple routes to Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and South America.
Out of Munich, the A340-600s are currently scheduled to operate until the end of the 2024 summer schedule (October 26, 2024) and serve the following destinations (all daily):
Boston: Until March 30, 2024 Chicago: June 1, 2024, to October 26, 2024 Miami: Until April 7, 2024 Mumbai: April 8, 2024, to October 26, 2024 New York JFK: Until March 30, 2024 Newark: March 31, 2024, to September 30, 2024 Washington Dulles: March 31, 2024, to May 31, 2024
Destinations served out of Munich that the Lufthansa A340-600 will be seen on regularly in 2024. (Map generated using Great Circle Mapper)
Out of Frankfurt, both the A340-300 and the A340-600 are scheduled to operate to Lufthansa’s following destinations at some point in 2024:
Bogota: All flights (up to daily) A340-600 until March 30, 2024, and then A340-300 until June 30, 2024 Boston: Daily A340-300 until February 29, 2024, and from October 27, 2024, A340-600 between that Chicago: Daily A340-600 on LH430/LH431 until January 31, 2024; daily A340-300 on LH432/LH433 from March 16, 2024 New York JFK: Daily A340-300 on LH404/LH405 year-round; A340-600 on select LH400/LH401 rotations Washington Dulles: Up to two daily A340-600 rotations, A340-300 on non-A340-600 rotationsThe Lufthansa A340-300 will, in addition to the above, also serve the following destinations out of Frankfurt in 2024:
Abuja: Daily from March 31, 2024, to October 26, 2024 Atlanta: Daily year-round Beijing: Daily year-round Cape Town: All flights (up to daily) year-round Chennai: Daily year-round Dallas: Daily until March 2, 2024, and from June 2, 2024 to October 26, 2024 Denver: Daily from March 30, 2024, to October 27, 2024 Detroit: Up to 6x week until January 14, 2024, and from March 31, 2024, to October 26, 2024 Lagos: 5x week (excl. Thu/Sat) until March 29, 2024; from May 31, 2024, to June 21, 2024; and from October 27, 2024 Los Angeles: Daily on summer-only LH450/LH451 from May 1, 2024, to October 25, 2024 Malabo (via Lagos): 5x week (excl. Thu/Sat) until March 29, 2024; from May 31, 2024, to June 21, 2024; and from October 27, 2024 Nagoya: 3x week (Wed/Fri/Sat) from April 1, 2024, to October 26, 2024 Nairobi: Daily until February 29, 2024 Port Harcourt (via Abuja): Daily from March 31, 2024, to October 26, 2024 Rio de Janeiro: 3x week (Wed/Fri/Sun) until March 29, 2024, then 6x week (excl. Sun) until June 29, 2024 San Jose (Costa Rica): 3x week (Tue/Thu/Sat) year-round Seattle: Daily until October 26, 2024 Tehran: Daily year-round
Destinations served out of Frankfurt that the Lufthansa A340-300 will be seen on regularly in 2024. (Map generated using Great Circle Mapper)
Lastly, the Lufthansa A340-600 will serve the following destinations out of Frankfurt in addition to those that will be operated by both variants:
Hong Kong: Daily year-round Houston: From February 1, 2024, to March 30, 2024 Shanghai Pudong: Daily on the summer-only LH728/LH729 from March 31, 2024, to October 26, 2024
Destinations served out of Munich that the Lufthansa A340-600 will be seen on regularly in 2024. (Map generated using Great Circle Mapper)
Lufthansa A340 Fleet
From when it became one of the Airbus A340-200 launch customers in 1993 to today, Lufthansa operated over 60 A340 airframes of three variants. While all of its A340-200s were phased out by 2003 and a good portion of its A340-300s and A340-600s were retired too, the airline still maintains a fairly large fleet of the latter two.
Lufthansa currently has 17 A340-300s active:
D-AIFC (MSN 379, delivered in 2001) D-AIFD (MSN 390, delivered in 2001) D-AIFE (MSN 434, delivered in 2001) D-AIFF (MSN 447, delivered in 2001) D-AIGL (MSN 135, delivered in 1996) D-AIGM (MSN 158, delivered in 1997) D-AIGN (MSN 213, delivered in 1998) D-AIGO (MSN 233, delivered in 1998) D-AIGP (MSN 252, delivered in 1998) D-AIGS (MSN 297, delivered in 1999) D-AIGT (MSN 304, delivered in 1999) D-AIGU (MSN 321, delivered in 2000) D-AIGV (MSN 325, delivered in 2000) D-AIGW (MSN 327, delivered in 2000) D-AIGX (MSN 354, delivered in 2000) D-AIGY (MSN 335, delivered in 2000) D-AIGZ (MSN 347, delivered in 2000)
Lufthansa A340-300s can be seen on flights to destinations around the world.
Additionally, it has 10 A340-600s active:
D-AIHF (MSN 543, delivered in 2004) D-AIHI (MSN 569, delivered in 2004) D-AIHP (MSN 771, delivered in 2006) D-AIHT (MSN 846, delivered in 2008) D-AIHU (MSN 848, delivered in 2008) D-AIHV (MSN 897, delivered in 2008) D-AIHW (MSN 972, delivered in 2008) D-AIHX (MSN 981, delivered in 2009) D-AIHY (MSN 987, delivered in 2009) D-AIHZ (MSN 1005, delivered in 2009)
A Lufthansa A340-600 landing in Los Angeles.
Lufthansa A340 Seat Configuration
Lufthansa A340-300s are in a three-class configuration seating a total of 279 passengers including 30 in business, 28 in premium economy, and 221 in economy class.
Its A340-600s also feature first class and come in two different configurations. One of them seats a total of 281 passengers while the other 297. In both of the configurations, the A340-600s have eight first-class seats. Additionally, the less dense configuration can fit 56 passengers in business class, 28 in premium economy, and 189 in economy. The numbers are 44, 32, and 213 respectively for the denser configuration.
Both of Lufthansa’s A340 variants use the same seats in the three classes they share. Economy class is in a 2-4-2 layout, premium economy in a 2-3-2 layout, and business class in a 2-2-2 layout. The business class seats, like on most other Lufthansa aircraft, are subpar, to put it mildly. I reviewed them in detail here.
Lufthansa’s subpar A340 business class.
In first class, the A340-600s have large open seats (i.e. not suites with doors) in a 1-2-1 layout.
One thing that’s interesting about Lufthansa’s A340-600s is that the aircraft is a double-decker in a way. Rather than being on the main deck like on other aircraft, the lavatories in economy class are located under it – i.e. you have to walk down a staircase to reach the lavatory area.
Lufthansa A340 Retirement Plans
The 17 A340-300s that Lufthansa currently uses were built between 1996 and 2001. The 10 A340-600s were built between 2004 and 2009.
At between 23 and 28 years old, the A340-300s are well past their prime. While some of the A340-600s are, at 15 years old, not too old, they are past their prime too. Especially so considering that they are, by today’s standards, very fuel-inefficient four-engined jets.
As such, it is no surprise that Lufthansa already retired some airframes and is in the process of retiring more as replacements join its fleet. Lufthansa is replacing the A340-300s and growing its fleet with A350-900s and 787-9s some of which were already delivered. It is replacing the A340-600s one-to-one with ten A350-1000s of which the first one is yet to join its fleet.
While the exact retirement timeline is not clear, what is clear is that the days of both the A340-300 and A340-600 in Lufthansa’s fleet are counted. Luckily, though, we should still see the A340s – especially the A340-300s – flying in Lufthansa’s colors for a few years.
Summary
Lufthansa is one of the few remaining Airbus A340 operators and the world’s only operator of all the current Western four-engined jets.
With almost 30 active A340-300s and A340-600s in its fleet, the aircraft can be seen on quite a few routes out of Lufthansa’s hubs in Frankfurt and Munich. Most of the destinations served by the aircraft are in the United States but they fly to other parts of the world including South America, Africa, and Asia.
It will likely be possible to fly on Lufthansa’s A340s for a few more years. That said, with their replacements on order, it is just a matter of time before the aircraft are a history.
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